Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The people of Melbourne's north-east have carried heavy hearts since the passing of Victoria's 41st Premier, the Hon. John Cain. Jagajaga was his home, and since his passing locals have been keen to pay their respects, share their memories and show their love and support for John's wife, Nancye, and his family.

The thing locals always loved about John Cain was that his leadership always reflected his thorough decency and his integrity. He was never one for pomp and ceremony or perks of the office. The thing that made John Cain so remarkable to locals in Jagajaga and to local Labor branch members was just how accessible and down to earth he always was. They would often say that, considering the man had a bronze statue in Treasury Place, his keenness to offer his time was remarkably selfless. He would do his letterboxing during election campaigns for the local member and he'd talk to other campaign workers and offer words of advice. His commitment to our local area never waned.

Everyone seems to have a story or a recollection of talking to him. My John Cain story is of being a young girl growing up in the area. One Saturday afternoon our phone rang and I answered it. The voice on the other end announced himself as John Cain and asked to speak to my father, who at that time was a local councillor. I had great trouble trying to convince my father that it really was the Premier on the phone and not me having mucked it up. John Cain was calling to follow up on a discussion they'd been having about some local bike paths—again, a demonstration of his dedication to his work at all levels.

Our local state members will tell you that having John Cain on your booth on election day was a vote magnet, as people lined up to take a how-to-vote card from him, and our opponents were always happy when John left the polling booth. He had such a great regard for those long-term local party members who had worked on past campaigns for him—and Brian and Ellen Smiddy certainly come to mind when I think of this.

He was there to provide frank and fearless advice to me as the new federal member for Jagajaga, as he'd done for Jenny Macklin before me and all of our state members over the years. John Cain was always quick to let us know when he thought we needed to lift our game. He spoke strongly always of loyalty to party, to our members, to the cause and above all to the voters that we're elected to serve, and his advice had to be respected. After all, he revolutionised Victorian Labor. He thrust the party into a new age after decades on the opposition benches. He set us up as a credible party of government in Victoria, and it's fair to say that his successors paved the way for the success that Victorian Labor has had ever since. His legacy to the people of Victoria will stand the test of time, and it's been well canvassed by many on both sides of politics and by my colleagues today.

But his local legacy to people in Jagajaga is something that I'd like to further reflect on. He was a driving force behind the establishment of the West Heidelberg Community Legal Service, which he was patron of for many years. The legal service is now part of the Banyule Community Health service, and it continues to be there for those who need it most: people who would often otherwise face further debts, alienation or trouble in their lives. John was a strong advocate of the need to protect neighbourhood character across our community. His long-term work with our state members of parliament and the Victorian Minister for Planning ultimately led to the securing of mandatory height controls in Banyule, and this had the effect of ensuring integrity, accountability and transparency of planning decisions in our community, attributes that John Cain stood for across his work. In recent times, John also expressed a strong desire to see a renewed purpose for the John Cain Memorial Park, which is named after his father, as a sport and recreational centrepiece in the northern suburbs. John was always around the traps on these matters, talking to me, to other local members and to members of our community.

On behalf of the Ivanhoe ALP branch, of which John was a member for so many years, and the communities across Jagajaga, I once again express my deepest condolences to John's wife, Nancy, and their children, John, James and Joanne, and their families. Vale, John Cain.

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